


Moving Out

by lunarlychallenged



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Modern AU, Roommates, communication is key folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 09:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14017575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarlychallenged/pseuds/lunarlychallenged
Summary: Davey and the reader have been roommates for ages, but when the time comes to move out, neither one is sure where their relationship is headed.





	Moving Out

As always, time only seemed to pass quickly when you wanted it to slow down. You had actually really been enjoying the way time had dragged along, and all of that happiness was due to living with Davey. 

The two of you had lived together for nearly two years, and it was a great living situation. You had an entire system in place to determine who cooked, cleaned, and was in charge of getting the bills paid on time. You had movie nights scheduled, protocol for bad days, and codes to use if one of you needed to get out of a commitment. 

The closest thing to an issue was the fact that you had been totally crazy about him for, oh, the entire time, but that was a non-issue. He didn’t really date, so you didn’t have to deal with him bringing home someone far luckier than you. You hadn’t dated since he came into your life, so you didn’t have to try and force yourself to seem interested in somebody who didn’t measure up. Davey had no idea how you felt, and he was so thick that you could probably have written him a love song and he wouldn’t have picked up on the truth of the content. It was fine. You were fine.

Your phone beeped. You checked the notification: a text from Davey. 

"I found the perfect place! Are you free to visit with me tomorrow?"

That, unfortunately, was the problem. The rent for your apartment had been going up, and the two of you agreed that it wasn’t worth the money they asked for. You wouldn’t be renewing your lease, and though you wouldn’t mind leaving the cramped apartment for something better, Davey hadn’t expressed any interest in cosigning again.

Jack thought that you should just ask him; Jack had been the one to introduce the two of you in the first place. Davey and Jack had been best friends since they were teenagers, and you and Jack had been in a class together in college. When graduation came and he heard that you didn’t have a roommate, he hooked you up with Davey. 

You hadn’t told Jack that you liked Davey, but you hadn’t had to. He swore that only somebody totally in love with Davey would still be willing to play Scrabble with him after 5 games.  
You had been playing it with him once a week for two years, so maybe Jack was on to something.

You weren’t sure about asking him. Davey was a Man with a Plan. He made goals and he met them. If he wasn’t already including you in his plan, there was probably a reason. If the reason was that he just wasn’t interested in living with you, you didn’t want to hear him say it. Besides, living away from him would probably be the best way to get over him. Maybe once you forgot what he looked like with bedhead or what he smelled like, you would stop feeling like home was wherever he was.

"Sure," you texted back. "Send me the info?"

It looked like a nice enough place. Not much better than the place you already had, but $50 less a month, and it had a 24 hour convenience store less than a block away. That was nothing to turn up your nose at.

Whether he chose the place or not, T minus two weeks before you two had to split.

 

That night, Davey requested an impromptu movie night. 

“Sure,” you said with surprise. Usually weekdays were spent with him grading homework for the class he was a TA for and you making a bigger deal over doing typical life things than you needed to, so you wondered if something was wrong. If so, he didn’t say. He just pulled Dead Poets Society up on your Netflix account.

Oh, how you had a love-hate relationship with that movie. You were always fine at first, constantly whispering to Davey over a bowl of popcorn that you were a little in love with young Robin Williams. Every time the end came near, you ended up leaning into Davey in a useless attempt to keep him from seeing your tears. He never said anything about them, but he leaned back a little if he heard you sniffle.

When the movie ended, you wiped at your eyes and sighed. “That movie is a roller coaster.”

“It’s cathartic,” he agreed.

“Nobody likes catharsis, Davey,” you said as you stood to take the dishes to the sink. “That movie is better; it’s magic.”

He hummed in agreement, spreading out on the couch and putting an arm over his eyes.

Side-eying him, you weren’t sure if he was comfortable or if he was stressed. The boy was such an anxious thing; even after spending so much time together, sometimes you had trouble telling if he was okay or not. You usually just tried to make sure you were available to lean on if needed while making things easier where you could.

“Everything okay?”

“What?” He shifted his arm a little to peek at you through one eye. “Oh, sure, yeah. I’m just going to miss this place. I’m trying to soak it all in.”

You lifted his feet to sit back on the couch. “We’ve still got a few weeks. We can make the most of it.”

“We can play Scrabble on every surface,” he said with a small smile.

“Throw a party and let everybody trash it. We’ll have to clear everything out anyways.”

He groaned. “I have too many things to move out.”

You nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and we went in together on a lot of stuff. It’ll be hard to split it up.”

He stiffened. You looked down at him curiously, but he didn’t say anything. You thought about asking, but maybe it was just better to drop the topic. The move was going to be terrible, but neither of you could know how to split up your things until you knew what the new roommates were bringing. If there were new roommates, at least.

 

You stood next to Davey, looking up at the apartment. It was on top of a bakery.

“This is the actual dream,” you said with wonder. “Davey, how did you find this place?”

He beamed, looking a little mystified himself. “My parents know the owner. They said that if I want it, it’s as good as mine.”

“Davey.”

He laughed. “I know. Sometimes life just throws you a line, huh?”

You bumped his shoulder with yours, walking to the door leading up. “It sure does, but this is life buying you a winning lotto ticket.” Not buying you a winning lotto ticket, of course, but if anybody deserved a home above a literal slice of heaven, it was Davey.

He walked you through the apartment enthusiastically. It really was wonderful. Everybody had an ideal apartment in their head when they imagined a home in New York, and this was honestly it. Rooms that were cozy, decent window views, and walls and floors that looked like they were in good condition. It was perfect, and though you were happy for him, a seed of bitterness was unfurling in your chest.

You had looked halfheartedly at apartments, but you were doing it while dragging yourself through a lake of denial. You weren’t done with him yet. You were happy. You knew that New York being a place where dreams came true was more of an exception than a rule, but your dream of staying with Davey had always seemed like a small enough dream to become a reality.

The living room was perfect for small game and movie nights. The kitchen was a little cramped, but just the right size for one person to move around freely. The bathroom was clean and small, but it didn’t feel like you would get an infection just by standing in it, which was sometimes a luxury in New York. Then there was the one bedroom, roomy and bright.

“So? What do you think?” He was grinning, practically glowing as he looked at the bedroom with satisfaction.

“It’s great,” you said with as much enthusiasm as you could muster.

It must not have been enough, since Davey’s smile dimmed some. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just not ready for it to end,” you said. You allowed your smile to fill with the melancholy you felt for the first time since you had decided to move, and his face echoed it.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that,” he said. He wouldn’t meet your eyes, but his face was set and pale.

“Oh?” You didn’t want to sound hopeful, but how many meanings could he really have?

He nodded resolutely. “I have. I want you to move in with me.”

You gaped at him. “But this place is perfect!”

“What?” He looked truly baffled. “Yeah, I know.”

“So,” you prodded, “you can’t give it up just so we can still be roommates.” You desperately wanted him to, of course, but a cute apartment above a bakery was too much like heaven to pass up on.

Understanding dawned on him, though you were still in the dark. “No,” he said. “I won’t. I want you to move in here with me.”

You grinned, hope making your heart race, but it stuttered. “There’s only one bedroom.”

He gave a jerky nod, anxiety making his eyes look much bigger than usual. “Yeah, well - you see, the thing is -”

“Come on, Davey,” you said lightly. “Use your words. I know you’ve got a ton of them.”

He took a deep breath, brow furrowing as he gathered himself. “Okay. I want you to move in with me, and if it doesn’t make you uncomfortable, I want us to share a room. Share a bed. Everything.”

Your heart thundered. You felt like you could hardly hear anything over it, but Davey looked so earnest, so hopeful, that you tried to gather yourself. “Because,” you swallowed thickly.  
“Because you like me?”

He gave a bewildered huff of laughter. “Yes, because I like you. I - I love you. Everybody knows that.”

“I didn’t,” you exclaimed. “You never said anything.”

“I didn’t know I had to,” he protested. “You’ve never said anything either. You still haven’t, actually, so-”

You lunged across the small room, dragging his face to yours in a desperate kiss. Davey loved you, and he wanted to live with you. Really live with you, not just as roommates. Sharing everything.

He held your face in both hands, kissing you long and slow. There was nothing hurried about his movements, though you were more inclined to rush than he was. His kisses were deep, and in them you would never drown.

You pulled back, smiling a little when his face followed yours. “Okay. Let’s really live together. Everything.”

He beamed, smile coating his entire face. “Okay! Yes, let’s - we’ll sign the lease right away.”

You looked around the room, cheeky smile gracing your face. “We really will have to make the most of the old place, though. We spent two years there, after all, and that warrants more than just Scrabble on every surface.”

He choked out a laugh, cheeks flushing a little, but he didn’t deny it. “Let’s go to the bakery. We have to celebrate.”

You did celebrate. You celebrated, just the two of you, and again when you announced the relationship to all of you friends, who scolded you for taking so long. You didn’t mind. Waiting had been agonizing at times, but Davey was worth the wait. All of it was worth the wait, once you knew the ending. Dreams sometimes came true in New York, and Davey was a dream well worth the risk.


End file.
